Eye for dolls



Jan. 15, 1957 FIG. 3

J. O. WAGNER EYE FOR DOLLS Original Filed April 9, 1947 John O. Wagner INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent EYE FOR DOLLS John 0. Wagner, Palisade, N. J.

Original application April 9, 1947, Serial No. 740,295, now Patent No. 2,685,760, dated August 10, 1954. and this application June 16, 1953, Serial No.

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-165) This application is a division of my earlier application, Serial Number 740,295, filed April 9, 1947, now Patent No. 2,685,760.

The present invention relates to an eye for dolls or the like, and refers more particularly to a transparent object suitable for insertion in a doll, manikin, or stuifed animal to represent the eye thereof in a realistic and striking manner.

An object of the present invention is to provide an eye for dolls or the like which shall present a striking appearance of depth, and the appearance of which will change as it is viewed from different angles.

Another object is to provide such advantages in an eye which is cheap to manufacture and easy to afiix to the doll or similar body in which it is to be used.

In accomplishing the objects of the present invention I have provided an eye which has a front portion of preferably parti-spherical shape, and a cylindrical portion of smaller diameter extending rearwardly therefrom and preferably integrally therewith. This cylindrical portion has a coaxial cylindrical recess, and the surfaces of the cylindrical portion, both inner and outer, are preferably at least partially opaque. As viewed from the front, the eye, which is of transparent material, appears to comprise a substantially cylindrical portion extending away from the point of view, which last mentioned portion appears to contain a solid cylinder. As the eye is viewed from variousv angles of inclination to the axis of these cylinders, it presents a rapidly changing aspect, which not only draws attention to the depth of the eye but is striking and pleasing in and of itself.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out. The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claim. In the accompanying drawing, in which are shown some of the various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of my invention.

Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the same.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Referring now in detail to Figures 1 to 4, the improved eye 20 comprises the body portion 21. Body portion 21 is preferably parti-spherical in shape, having the partispherical front surface 22 and a flat rear surface 23. Said surface 23 is in a radial sense the outermost of the surfaces of the eye located to the rear of front surface 22 and may have opacifying means such as paint, or may be rendered opaque by being roughened, in either case the opacifying means constituting a simulation of an eye part. Because in the case of surface 23 said eye part to be simulated would be the eye ball, the same may conveniently be simulated by white paint. A coating I 2,777,249 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 23A of such white paint is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The front surface 22 is pa'rti-spherical because such a shape is the nearest shape which can be conveniently and cheaply manufactured, to the front surface of most of the eyes which it is intended to simulate, such as humans, animals, etc. It is of course understood that a flat front surface might be cheaper to manufacture and might be preferable if the natural eye which is to be simulated has a comparatively flat front surface.

Integral with body portion 21 is the cylindrical portion 24 of lesser diameter than body portion 21 and extending rearwardly therefrom. Both body portion 21 and cylindrical portion 24 are composed of transparent material such as glass or transparent synthetic plastic material. A substantially cylindrical, coaxial recess 25 extends forwardly from the rear surface 26 of cylindrical portion 24, for substantially the entire length thereof. the inner cylindrical surface 27 defining recess 25, and the outer cylindrical surface 28 of the portion 24, as well as the rear surface 26 thereof, are rendered at least partially opaque either by applying coatings 27A, 28A, and 26A, respectively of opaque paint or the like to said surfaces, or by imparting thereto a rough finish in the process of manufacture, said paint or rough finish simulating eye parts, namely the pupil and the iris. By reason of said opaqueness or non-transparency, the recess 25 appears when viewed from the front, as in Figures 1 and 2, to be a solid cylindrical object located coaxially within the larger cylinder 24, and simulating the pupil of the eye. Referring particularly to Fig-ure 2, as the eye 20 is viewed from an angle inclined to the axis of the cylinders 25, 24, the difference in general aspect from the appearance when viewed head on, as in Figure l, is striking, and each small change in the angle of view presents a strikingly different appearance from the preceding angle of view. Due to the curvature of front surface 22 of body 21, the walls of recess 25 appear to converge forwardly when viewed at an angle, and the apparent motion of the lines 29, 30 defining the upper and lower limit of recess 25 when the axis thereof is horizontal as illustrated, is novel and certain to attract attention. The inner or rear end of lines 29, 30 move outwardly as the angle of inclination of the point of view is increased. A great illusion of depth is apparent both in the head-on view of the eye as in Figure 1 and in the angular view thereof as in Figure 2, the various angles of view producing, as just described, an appearance of motion within the eye as the angle of view changes.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved, and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use. As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

An artificial eye element consisting of a unitary body of transparent material, said body having a front portion defined by a hemispheroidal front surface providing a view through said front portion of means simulating eye parts, said front portion further having an annular rear surface extending radially inwardly to a substantially circular inner periphery, said body further comprising a substantially cylindrical portion extending rearwardly from said front portion, said cylindrical portion further being formed with a substantially coaxial recess extending forwardly from the rear surface thereof, and opacifying means located on said annular surface and on the surface of said recess and on the rear and outer surfaces of said cylinder, all of said opacifying means simulating eye parts, said opacifying means of said surface of said recess simulating an eye pupil and being in substantially spaced relation to said other opacifying means, the Walls of said recess appearing to move outwardly at the rear as said eye element is viewed through said front surface at an angle of inclination to the axis of said cylindrical portion and of said recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Marcus Dec. 3, 1929 Marcus Aug. 25, 1936 Wood Apr. 20, 1943 Ellett -L. June 17, 1952 

